Dice, Camera, Action!: A Dash of Dark and Dicey
by Wramysis
Summary: How might the Dark and Dicey crossover events featuring Paultin and the Stone of Golorr have been integrated into the DCA plotline to make them canon? I decided to take a stab at it.


A.N.: I was a little saddened when it seemed that Chris Perkins wasn't going to use the backstory of the Stone of Golorr from the 'Dark and Dicey' crossover at the 'Stream of Many Eyes' event, even though those episodes were supposed to be canon. Prior to that confirmation, I had put together this fic to try and explain how the 'Google McGuffin' (as the Stone was later renamed by the DaD team) had made its way back to Waterdeep and the Waffle Crew. This story uses actual dialog and events from a later DaD episode that Nate DM'ed while also bringing in his Paultin character. It also references a few DCA mysteries left unexplained (why had the Xanathar gone crazy? What was Diath up to when he'd leave on his secret missions?). In the DCA-verse, I would stick this fic somewhere around episodes 104-105.

* * *

Paultin wobbled down one of the mansion's recently renovated corridors, nursing a hangover that had prevented him from catching more than a few hours of sleep. He clutched at the wall to steady himself, grumbling all the while about how unnatural it was for anyone to be up before sunrise when there wasn't any light by which to see. Suddenly he had a flash in his mind of a concept called _electricity_, and how on some other world it was being used to create light.

"And how the hell does that help_ me?"_ he growled at the invisible specter that taunted him with these unwanted thoughts. He swatted the air angrily as if batting the creature away, and stumbled into a new corridor. He realized as he did that he had made a wrong turn somewhere, and now found himself on Diath's floor.

He noticed a faint glow coming from underneath the bedroom door. With a frown, Paultin crept forward and put his ear up against it, and heard the frantic scratching of a quill on parchment. _Did the guy never sleep?_ Overcome by curiosity, Paultin rapped his fingers lightly on the door, curious whether the rogue would actually let him in. Paultin had already explored the room on several past occasions, of course, but never when Diath was actually present ...or conscious.

"Yes?" said a tired voice from within. Paultin swung open the door and cast a disapproving look at the piles of papers lying scattered on Diath's table. There was a half-melted candle at its center, as well as dying embers in the fireplace, both indicating that Diath had been up quite a while longer than Paultin. His eyes finally fell on the thief, whose nose was still buried in a ledger. Without looking up, the youth asked, "What is it, Paultin?"

"I've got to wonder," he began, putting words together with effort, "why you aren't getting more sleep now that Strix isn't snoring on your floor?"

Diath sighed softly and rubbed at his temples. "I've been going over our group's budget trying to figure out how we'll make ends meet. It wasn't so bad when we were wandering in Chult and could pick food off the trees and let Waffles hunt, but nothing in this city is free. And if that weren't bad enough, somehow we also got saddled with feeding Warrington and three kids."

Paultin frowned, feeling slightly affronted. "I thought you guys always came to_ me_ for money. Why haven't you talked to me about any of this?"

"Paultin, ever since the downstairs bar was destroyed, all you do is spend time at the tavern drinking. I know you've got Evelyn all excited about some tour you're planning to perform down the Sword Coast, but_ let's be honest_, you haven't played any music since your showdown with that bard at the Yawning Portal. And I know you've been having a tough time adjusting since you were brought back to life again, so I haven't wanted to burden you with any of this."

"And _how exactly_ were you planning on making money without my help?" Paultin asked, raising an eyebrow. "Or have you already uncovered that pile of gold the dwarves said you'd find?"

A pained look momentarily crossed Diath's features. "No, I haven't even had time to worry about the Stone of Golorr. And besides, I told the dwarves the treasure was theirs _if I found it_. Right now, I have to focus on _our_ needs, and look for whatever small jobs are out there that might bring us a bit of coin."

Paultin walked up to the table and picked up one of the leaflets strewn across it. "What's this?" he asked.

"The City Watch posts bounty flyers and job offerings around the city. I'm still helping Sergeant Keladonna figure out where that trash monster came from, and sometimes she pays me for information I can hunt down through my underground contacts."

"You mean that tall girl who had an obvious crush on you? Maybe if you took her out to dinner you could get..." Paultin saw Diath's glare and quickly changed tactics. "Well, the Zhentarim keep saying they owe us a favor. I know we haven't heard anything from them since they sent us that security expert - who ended up ditching us after she learned we didn't have the Ring of Winter any more_ even though we had already told Wandala that back in episode 95_, but still-"

"I don't trust the Zhentarim any farther than I can throw them. Do _you?_"

Paultin thought back about how the Zhents and their monkey had tried to kidnap Simon back in Chult, and later how that big orc shot an arrow though Paultin's shoulder when he had ridden Strix's broom trying to parlay with their ship captain. And then he vaguely remembered the Zhentarim assassin who had tried to kidnap Renaer to keep them from finding the Stone.

"I guess I see what you mean," Paultin admitted, glancing back at the flyer in his hand. It was a request for information about a centaur who had recently gone missing. The reward was actually a pretty decent sum of money.

"Hey Diath, let me handle this one right here, and you get some sleep."

"Paultin, I'm perfectly-"

"Diath, don't make me cast _sleep_ on you."

Diath's eyes narrowed. "I'm pretty sure you never learned that spell, and even if you did, if Strix ever found out that you forced magic on one of our group again, after that stunt you pulled with Shemeshka-"

"Hey, it all worked out in the end, and this will too. 'K, have a good nap, I bet I'll be back before you wake up." Paultin then cast _dimension door_ so that he had just enough distance to hop outside the mansion before Diath could stop him.

* * *

Bonnie the barmaid smiled up at Paultin as he slid onto a stool at the Yawning Portal. "A bit early to be seeing you here," she noted in mild surprise. "Just so you know, we don't have enough patrons at this hour to make it worth hiring you for a performance."

"That's fine, just put it on my tab," Paultin said, giving her his most charming smile as she brought him a mug of ale.

"Aye, only 'cuz it's you, lad. But don't tell Durnan; he's still grumbling about the cost of fixing that wall those strangers from out of town crashed into. The Watch supposedly frisked 'em and found a bag o' gold, but the greedy buggers kept it all for supposed _fines to the City_ and we saw none of it."

Paultin suddenly had another vision, this time of a motley group of adventurers in a carriage being dragged by a humongous boar, tearing through the streets of Waterdeep. There were people after them, yelling about recovering '_the Stone'_, but who melted back into the shadows after the carriage crashed into a cabbage merchant's cart and struck the wall of the Inn.

_"Great, thanks for that,"_ he muttered as the vision ended. Bonnie, thinking his words were for her, gave him a smile and wandered away. But just as soon as he was left alone, he felt another presence at his back.

"Mind if I sit with you?" asked a grizzled old voice. Paultin looked over his shoulder to see a thin, long-bearded man wearing a dark purple cloak. Before Paultin could consider the question, the stranger settled onto the stool beside him.

"Greetings," the man nodded with a sly grin. "I think it is fate that has brought us together this day."

"You don't say," remarked Paultin, taking a long sip of his drink. He knew, of course, that someone at the Inn would approach him with information. That's how these scenarios always seemed to work out. He stopped even wondering what was causing such coincidences to happen, and just told himself to enjoy the ride.

"_There are some who call me_...Tim?" the man said with a slight tilt of his head, as if expecting it to provoke a response.

Paultin nodded at him. "Nice to meet you, Tim. Sorry, the name doesn't ring a bell."

Unperturbed, the man continued, "Tell me, do you happen to wear a pendant with a strange inscription that no one can read?"

Paultin's brow furrowed. This was sounding slightly familiar somehow. He felt at his neck and drew out a silver chain that had been tucked under his shirt. It carried a small metal plaque, about the size of a coin, with foreign runes engraved on it.

"Are you about to tell me this is a royal birth certificate, and that I'm somehow the last prince in the galaxy?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Paultin had a flash of insight. This had happened before. Or rather, this was a scene from someone else's story._ A story there was no possible way for him to know,_ and yet the knowledge had somehow gotten into his head.

"The nonsense you are spouting is all the proof I need. No sir, you have been touched by cosmic powers beyond our understanding. Their knowledge pours into you, and at any moment, risks turning you mad. The pendant you wear, dedicated to the _Lords of the Seven Towers_, is proof of it."

"I don't even know what that means," Paultin insisted.

"Yet it's on your character sheet, marked as your religion."

Every now and then, Paultin had been able to believe that the world he was living in was actually real. That the people he met were real living beings, that they had risked their _actual lives_ against real dangers, and that the deeds they had done _mattered_. But in his darker moments, when he had been sober for too long, another voice crept into his thoughts, telling him that all his experiences were in fact a strange game played by gods from another world, and that he had no free will at all.

"You know about it- _the game?_" Paultin asked, reaching to poke the man's arm, as if to prove to himself that this was a real person he was talking to.

"Yes, I am one of the few who have managed to stay sane. This knowledge we have is a dreadful burden, and can sap away one's will to live. You have done well to survive this long."

Paultin raised his mug. "All thanks to the alcohol."

"This ability has long run in the Neverember family. Dagult used it to rise to power in Waterdeep and become its Open Lord. But it also led to his study of the mystic arts, especially towards the creation of a receptacle for all his knowledge, hoping to free himself from the curse before it drove him mad. That artifact is the _Stone of Golorr_._"_

"Wait a sec," Paultin said, tapping his forehead. "That's the stone Renear said would show the location of the treasure hoard the dwarves want Diath to find."

"Yes. The Xanathar had the Stone for a time, and it took its toll on the beholder's mind. Before it could use the artifact to locate the treasure, the object was stolen and handed off to an adventuring party-"

"Those guys in the carriage!" Paultin shouted in realization, drawing the attention of the few other patrons loitering about.

_"Shhh!_ Each of the factions has eyes and ears in this place, as you well know. They've all heard about the Stone and are trying to find it and the the gold."

Paultin stared down at his drink and thought back to his conversation with Diath. "Yeah, well as nice as it might be to find that Stone, I actually came here on a different mission." He took the parchment out of his pocket and slid it towards the man, who glanced briefly at it. "Apparently there's this popular centaur who's gone missing and the fans on some weird island are willing to pay a lot of gold to get him back. I don't know how the flyers made it all the way to Waterdeep, but then I kind of stopped thinking too deeply about why strange things keep happening around me."

"A wise decision," nodded the stranger. "But who's to say that these two quests are not intertwined? Just as the curse brings knowledge, it also, sometimes, causes fortuitous coincidences to occur. For instance, I know of a spell that can very quickly take you to this island."

"No kidding?" Paultin asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes, it is in the Blacksteel Isles, a place where magic is forbidden, and unless you wear a special bracelet, casting spells causes a giant metal golem to appear. They are apparently quite dangerous, or so I've been told."

Paultin drained his mug in one gulp, then wiped his chin with his sleeve and nodded to the man. "Well then, what are we waiting for?"

* * *

The man had not mentioned that these islands were in Barovia. Paultin could sense it the moment Tim's spell landed him in a wooded area not far from a small settlement. Was this the timeline where they had captured Strahd in that freaky doll, or the one where he was still free? Paultin immediately looked down to see if he had a shadow, but the sun - _if there was one_ _in this place_ -had already set.

"Grrreeeeat," he muttered to himself. He should probably hurry along and finish the mission before the Dark Powers realized he was back. He pulled up the hood of the cloak Tim had lent him and headed towards the village.

As he approached the buildings, his eyes automatically scanned for the nearest inn or tavern. A sign over one of the doors labeled an establishment as "The Pretty Cook". As good a place to start as any.

His nose was assaulted by a variety of odd smells as he pushed open the swinging door. The patrons looked up at him warily, but his interest was focused on a group in the corner that resembled the ones riding the carriage in his vision. He tried not to reveal his excitement as he approached the bar. He wasn't here for the Stone, after all, he was here for the centaur. _Would it be hoping for too much that these fellows might also know where the creature was?_

"Hellooo hooded figure," greeted a young woman, appearing suddenly at his side. Paultin put on his most charming smile, until he noticed the small scales on her cheeks and the slit irises that marked her as one of the snake people he and his friends had run into back in Chult. _What the hell was a yuan-ti doing here?_ He tried to hide his disgust as she began to tug at his elbow and babble about herself.

He heard the group in the corner chuckle at his predicament. Ignoring them for the moment, Paultin maneuvered around the yuan-ti to address the cook. "Whaddya got that's strong?"

The man poured out a mug of something green and slid it over to him. Paultin nodded his thanks and took a sip. The yaun-ti was again beside him. "Hello stranger, _you might not have heard me earlier_, but my name is Anya. You want a piece of jerky? Please try it!" she smiled at him winningly, holding out a dried piece of meat. "I'm looking for feedback."

Paultin's eyes fell on the strange bracelet at her wrist, and he reached instead for her hand. The woman blushed fiercely and threw a smug grin over at the others sitting at the table. _So they were all part of the same group, then_.

"Can I have this?" he asked her, wondering if it was one of those special bracelets Tim had mentioned. Such a thing might be useful if his search kept him on the island for a while.

The woman looked shocked. "Do you know what I had to do to get one of these? I had to kill my future centaur boyfr-" she stopped herself, then peered at him more closely. "My plan is to have seventy-two babies. Would you like to be father of half of those?"

Paultin took the jerky from her hand and placed it in his pocket, then took out a quill and the folded flyer from his vest, and very discretely wrote down her name. "That's interesting..." he said.

"Who are you?" asked a halfling girl from across the room in a sweet child-like voice. The yuan-ti rolled her eyes in exasperation and waved her free hand towards the others saying, "These are my _lackeys_, I am their leader. Forgive them, they are not used to seeing strangers in town."

Paultin focused his gaze on the woman and began casting_ suggestion_. "You should give me that bracelet," he told her.

Her eyes glazed over for a second, but surprisingly she then seemed to shake it off.

The gnome brusquely got up from his seat and shambled towards them. "You got a name?" he gruffly inquired.

"Yeah, _you?_" asked Paultin, not bothering to mask his annoyance.

"You first."

As he looked down at the short figure, Paultin realized that the gnome also wore a bracelet. He nodded at the object, and said to the gnome, "Tell you what. Let me have that bracelet, and maybe you can learn something about me, eh?"

The gnome drew his weapon and shouted over to the cook, "You've got an unwanted customer in here! Consider his tab paid by mine." Anya made a cry of dismay.

"So that's how you want to do this, eh? All right." With an amused grin at the gnome, Paultin finished his mug and raised his hands in a gesture of peace as he turned from the bar and left the inn. Not a second after the door shut behind him, he heard and felt a loud thud as something very heavy materialized nearby.

Tim's words of warning suddenly came back to him, and instinctively Paultin cast _invisibility_ on himself, realizing too late that he had now cast _two_ spells. Did it even matter at this point? Would the golem's focus be on Paultin, or on the location where magic was cast? Just in case, Paultin quickly donned the _gloves of thievery_ he had gotten from Diath and scrambled up the wall and onto a second story balcony. From there, he had a nice view of a giant metal construct stomping towards the building.

The group of adventurers quickly exited as well, staring at the golem in disbelief. He expected them to run, but strangely, some of them actually walked towards the creature as if to confront it. Paultin shook his head at their stupidity. Not wanting to witness a bloodbath, he pushed open the nearest window and climbed back inside.

The room was a mess, with rags tossed haphazardly over the furniture, weapons strew across the floor, and something moving in a corner that he decided might be best to avoid. Was this the room that group was staying in, and could he possibly find another bracelet tucked away somewhere inside?

He got confirmation a moment later when the gnome burst into the room and headed straight for the corner, scooping up several small squirming things into his arms before racing back downstairs.

_"Ooookay_ then," Paultin said softly to himself, happy to have his answer. After confirming that there was no longer any movement anywhere in the room, the bard quietly shut the door again and began rifling through the drawers.

_"Are you looking for me?"_ asked a strange voice. Paultin grasped the hilt of the Sunsword and swiftly turned around, unsure what to expect. There, floating in the air several feet off the ground, was a large grey oblong stone with three black eyes along its length, blinking at him curiously.

"I don't... _maybe?"_ Paultin replied uncertainly. "Let me guess, you're the Stone of Golorr?"

"I am Google McGuffin, but I was once also known by that name," the floating rock agreed. "And you are Paultin Seppa. You are here to bring me back."

Paultin scratched his head. "Well, I mean I guess you're sort of one of the plot points of this adventure, but I was also hoping to find out what happened to a centaur. _Though..._ I have a feeling I already know the answer."

"Then let us go. We have much to learn from one another."

Paultin heard the voice of the halfling call out from downstairs, "You got us into this mess, now get us out! I know you're here!"

"Yeah, this seems like a good time to leave," Paultin nodded, giving up on finding a bracelet. He would just have to be more careful from now on. He plucked the Stone out of the air and tucked it inside his instrument satchel, then raced back towards the window, all too aware of the loud creaking of the floorboards as he did so. He slid through the opening and made it back onto the balcony, then leaped down to the ground. As he did so, an invisible force almost bowled him over, and he realized that one of the adventurers must have also turned invisible and run into him. He negated the spell on himself and pointed to his wrist. Suddenly the yuan-ti woman appeared in front of him, looking beaten up and desperate.

_Why did it have to be her?_ he groaned inwardly. Nevertheless, he gave her his ultimatum. "Do you want to get out of this mess, or do you want to die?"

_"You_ should die!" she sneered. _"You_ did this! Look at my beautiful clothes, I'm all bloody, the bird might be dead -_he had children!_ You should be ashamed, mystery cloak-man." Then Anya reached out and swept off his hood, revealing the face he had tried so hard to keep hidden.

"Good job," he congratulated her dryly, before putting_ invisibility_ back on. In that moment of surprise, as desperation once again filled her eyes, he managed to slip the bracelet off her wrist.

"Mystery man, you bastard, you stole my bracelet- _I was working so hard to get that!_ I hate you so much! I'm going to find you, _and destroy you,_ once I get another bracelet you motherf-"

Both of them had begun running in different directions, and all he could shout back to her was _"'Kay"_. The other adventurers had fled back into the inn, and the golem was now taking slow strides towards it. Feeling suddenly guilty, Paultin groaned and started running back as well. He dropped his _invisibility_ spell just as he reached the door, causing the metal creature to pause in surprise.

He could see the adventurers' faces peer through the window at him, and Paultin waved his arms wildly to get their attention. _"Get ready to run!"_ he shouted out, bracing himself to do the same. Just as the giant raised its fist, Paultin cast _banish_ and bolted. The door to the inn flew open as the others followed after him.

"_C'mon!_ You only have a _minute_ before it comes back!" he shouted. They finally all reached the cover of the woods, panting as they leaned against the trees to catch their breath. They then saw the golem reappear in front of the inn with its fist still raised as if to strike. Appearing confused, it lowered its arm, swiveled its head from side to side, and began trudging back through the town. With the crisis averted, Paultin decided he might as well make peace with these folks.

"Now, I promise that I won't fight you. I won't hurt any of you guys, if you can promise the same," he said warily, raising his hands again.

"If you promise to give me back my bracelet," Anya growled, glaring at him.

_"Oh yeah,"_ he said, and flung it back to her. "_I'm sorry_. Okay, let me explain. I'm on a mission to do some scouting, and heard about these bracelets and thought you guys looked like you might be nice enough to _give_ me one without me having to steal-"

_"But you stole!"_ Anya interrupted.

"Well, you guys made it _very difficult!_ Let's just agree the blame is split," Paultin said, clearing his throat uneasily. "But anyways, you guys were just in Waterdeep recently, right?"

The half-elf in plate armor, who was busy tending to their kenku ally who had taken the brunt of the golem's aggression, nodded gravely at him. "We _were,_ in fact."

"Yeah, and you flipped that cart with the big boar," Paultin continued, wishing he had a way to record their confessions. Maybe if someone cast a _zone of truth_ spell on Paultin, his own witness account would suffice. But he would need their names, at the very least. "My name is Paultin Seppa," he introduced himself, hoping it would inspire the others to do the same.

"What a weird name," Anya said. The others remained silent. _So much for that idea._ "Is there a Mrs. Paultin?" she asked, now wrapping both of her arms around him.

"I have a son, and a pretty tight family, so-" Anya huffed but did not release him. "I'm sensing a lot of hostility with you guys. Maybe you should work on your own group dynamic. Fit some therapy episodes in there somewhere."

"Episodes?" asked the gnome, staring at him blankly.

_Oh yeah_, Paultin realized, remembering that this group wasn't used to his extraplanar knowledge and the nonsense it sometimes caused him to spout. Anya was currently opening her mouth as if to bite his neck, and he thrust his palm into her face to push it aside, at the same time freeing himself from her embrace.

"So yeah, anyway, I'm on this mission to find a dead horse guy. You guys know anything about that?"

They all muttered "no" while conspicuously avoiding his gaze. Anya shoved another piece of jerky into his mouth.

"I hope you find all the answers you need. _Godspeed!"_

He nodded at the group as he chewed, recognizing the taste of horsemeat. "Yeah, I think I did. That was actually very helpful." He bowed to them with a flourish of his cape, and cast_ dimension door_ to take him a few hundred feet away. He had hoped the distance would be far enough to make a dramatic exit, but it turned out when he exited the door that they were still in full sight of one another. They began shouting in warning to him about having used magic again. _Dammit!_

_"It's all right. The golem will not appear if you do not accept its own reality,"_ said the voice of the Stone from within his satchel.

"Really? It's that easy?"

_"Now that I have put that thought in your mind, you will see that the golem will not appear."_

Paultin waited a few moments, noting that the others were also looking around anxiously for it to show up. When nothing happened, Paultin waved at them and called out, "It's okay, I have _plot immunity!_" He looked back down at the Stone and shook his head. "You seem a bit too overpowered to be real. What's your gimmick?"

"My gimmick?"

"Am I going to start calling you _Precious_ and attract undead creatures to me? Or do I get a single wish before you vanish and reappear at another location? Or maybe you can only show me the one thing my heart truly desires?"

"Ah, I see. These are _extraplanar_ references. While my knowledge is great, my magical abilities are limited. I am able to show you how to manipulate things here in Barovia because of your connection with Strahd, the lord of this domain. But we could not change things in Faerun unless we traveled to Earth and spoke to the _Wizards_ there who manipulate your destiny. In fact, _that_ is where I would like you to take us."

"You mean the ones controlling this story? The ones who are filling my head with all this nonsense?"

"I believe your knowledge of their lore is accidental. Nevertheless, if you wish to change your fate, they are the only ones who can."

"And you think they'd have no problem with me waltzing over there and demanding that they fix things?"

"They helped _Acquisitions Incorporated_ when they visited, and afterwards sent them back home."

Paultin looked down at the Stone poking through his satchel. The eyes were staring at him expectantly. _Was this actually something he wanted?_ While the intrusive thoughts could be annoying, they did sometimes provide welcome humor during the darker moments of his team's adventures. Also, there was no telling when that knowledge might actually end up being useful. Sure, there was the risk that he might go mad, but so far the wine had done a good job of keeping him sane. _It's not like he was planning to stop drinking any time soon._

"How about we put a pin in that," Paultin decided.

"I would very much like to speak with the _Wizards,_" said the Stone wistfully. "However, I cannot travel to Earth without your help. Very well, I shall return to those other adventurers until you are ready."

"Okay, but first, I still need help with one or two things."

* * *

Diath jolted awake from his chair as the door to his room creaked open. The flames of the candles and fireplace had gone out, but sunlight now shone through the cracks in the shutters. Paultin's head poked through the doorway, and when he saw that Diath was awake, he smugly walked up to the table.

"Have a nice nap? In case you were wondering, I _didn't_ cast sleep on you."

Diath yawned to clear his head and began reorganizing his papers. "I know, I decided to take your advice. After all, I won't be any good to anyone if I can't think straight. What's this?"

Paultin had dropped a small bag on the table. Diath looked up at him in surprise, but the bard actually looked apologetic.

"Sorry there isn't more there. The centaur was dead, and though I gave the guards physical proof and the name of one of those responsible, they didn't feel like that was enough to deserve the full reward."

Diath opened the bag and let the gold coins fall into his hand. "This should help a lot, Paultin. Thank you."

"That's not even the best part," Paultin said with a grin. He pulled out an odd-looking object from his satchel and presented it to the rogue.

Diath looked curiously at the loaf-shaped stone with three eyes. The eyes suddenly blinked in unison, and Diath recoiled out of his seat.

"What _is_ that thing!"

"Honestly, Diath, you're being rude. This is _Google_, otherwise known as the Stone of Golorr. He said he'd tell you where the treasure is, but that you'd better write it down because the moment you let go of him, you'll forget. After that, I promised I'd take him back to his party."

Too startled to ask questions, Diath scrambled to find a map of Waterdeep, then gingerly took hold of the Stone and asked it, "Okay Google, where is Dagult Neverember's hidden treasure?"

To their surprise, the Stone caused a quill to float up from the ink well where it had rested and plop down on one part of the map, marking an X. Diath then excitedly handed the Stone back to Paultin and stared down at the parchment.

"Let me guess, it's going to be guarded by death traps and some kind of boss monster, isn't it?" sighed Paultin.

"I cannot help you further," Google answered apologetically.

"I won't risk anyone else with this," insisted Diath stubbornly, jotting notes over the parchment. "The dwarves foresaw that _I_ would find the treasure, which means that somehow, I _will_ succeed. But that doesn't mean the rest of you will be safe. For this, I'm on my own."

"Now Diath-"

"I'm serious, Paultin. Promise me that you won't tell the others."

"Hmmm..."

Using a tactic that Paultin found very unfair, Diath asked, "Don't you care about them? Don't you want them to be safe?"

Paultin glared into Diath's tired, haunted eyes. "I want to keep _all_ of this family safe. Don't make me regret bringing you the Stone."

Diath tried to glare back, but finally slumped into his chair, defeated. "All right, fine. I won't enter the vault without you guys. But I might still scout ahead or ask some contacts what they might know about it, first."

Paultin shrugged, then placed the Stone back into his satchel and turned to leave the room.

"Oh, and Paultin-"

The bard raised a hand, forestalling the words he knew were coming. Paultin had never been good at expressing emotion, and he had the feeling that neither was Diath. However, an appropriate parting phrase came unbidden to his mind.

"Today, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we all may die_."_ And with that, Paultin stepped through a _dimension door_ and was gone.


End file.
